PAGE 12 THE BEHREND BEACON
Don't
The real sports fan:
In professional sports today. we see
the constant acceleration of player
salaries. We see billionaire owners
move teams from city to city with
out any notice due to a lack of "prof
its". We see television networks out
bid each other for the right to own a
coveted piece of the professional
sports pie.
But where are the fans? Are they
in the stands or at home on the couch?
Or are they at Wal-Mart gobbling up
the entire supply of White House
Womanizer garb?
For one, if they are at the game,
they are probably missing a large
McNair leads Titans to
Super Bowl
by Percy Allen
Knight-Ridder Tribune
January 24, 2000
JACKSONVILLE, Fla
different kinds of fairy tales
For Steve McNair. his fate has
always seemed to be determined by
others trying to judge his ability. He
was not good enough to play big-time
college football. Or smart enough to
quarterback an NFL team. Or the
most recent criticism: he couldn't
throw the ball with enough efficiency
to lead Tennessee to a third straight
victory against Jacksonville at Alltel
Stadium.
McNair heard it, he said, and it hurt
"Somebody is always trying to put
labels on you and put you into some
type of category," McNair said.
"Running quarterback or black
quarterback or whatever. I'm not into
labels. I'm a quarterback. Period."
But to beat a Jaguar defense
nicknamed "Dare McNair, - he would
have to prove his critics correct.
McNair couldn't win by passing, but
he needed to sprint past Jacksonville
and carried Tennessee to a 33-14
victory that gave the franchise its first
AFC championship and trip to Super
"Call him whatever you want to call
him," Titan offensive lineman Bruce
Matthews said. "If he's a running
quarterback, fine. But he's a winner.
That's all he's done this season.
"Defenses don't rush guys because
of what he can do as a quarterback
and that makes your job so much
easier. You can just see it in their eyes.
If they bin, and miss, he's gone, so
teams don't blitz."
Matthews had the best view of
McNair's final run when the Titans
quarterback scrambled free on a 51-
yard scamper midway in the fourth
quarter that broke the Jaguars' spirits
and sealed the victory for Tennessee.
On third-and-one, McNair rolled to
his left. stopped for a moment and
took off upfield.
"Eddie (George) did a good job of
selling the fake and the hole just
opened wide," McNair said. "When
it's that wide, I'm taking it. ... I was
thinking touchdown, but I really
didn't want to fumble it.''
He was tackled at the 1-yard line,
hut scored on the next play. It was
McNair's second rushing touchdown,
and he ran for almost as many yards
as he had passing. Afterward, the
Due to technica
difficulties beyon
control, the Beac
could not publis
the Scomboard
week. We are wor
ing to solve MN
problem and will
print both wee'
statistics next w
ANUARY 28 2000
amount of money. Now I realize that
if you are to mathematically calcu
late all of the various factors, fans on
a whole are not paying much more
for sporting events than they did
performance nearly made him blush.
He can throw the ball, he insists.
He's got the records and videotape to
prove it. If you push him, he'll tell
you about the time he for passed for
491 yards at tiny Alcorn State, a
Division I-AA school in Mississippi.
But to see him now, running into
the Super Bowl is a side of McNair
that he'd rather not reveal. He prefers
to stand in the pocket and fire passes
the way he used to.
"It took some adjustment, - he said.
used to pass for 4,000 yards in a
season and to come here and have 100
or 200 yards [passing] a game, that
took some getting used to. -
Again, McNair was outpassed by
his counterpart.
Jacksonville's Mark Brunell
finished with 226 yards on 19-of-38
passing. McNair completed 14 of 23
for 112 yards.
But Brunell's gimpy left knee made
him an easy target for the Titans, who
constantly harassed him and sacked
him three times. McNair was also
slowed by a sprained toe and needed
to wear a protective boot on his left
foot last week.
There are
But he was mobile enough to run
for 91 yards on nine carries and avoid
the Jacksonville pass rush that led the
league with 57 sacks.
"He's the guy that beat us today,"
Jaguar linebacker Kevin Hardy said.
"We came into the game wanting to
stop him and Eddie George. I think
we did a nice job stopping Eddie
George, but we couldn't contain
McNair."
Early in the third quarter, Hardy
broke free on a blitz but missed
McNair who spun away and passed
to George for a 15-yard gain. On the
play, the defensive tackle was
penalized 15 yards for roughing the
passer, which pushed Tennessee to the
Jacksonville 35.
McNair scored on a 1-yard run four
plays later, giving the Titans their first
lead, 17-14.
"That was the turning point," Hardy
said.
In the first half, both teams played
evenly and the Jaguars led by four
points at intermission. When it
seemed Jacksonville would blow out
the Titans. Tennessee countered every
scoring drive. Jacksonville scored
quickly, needing just two minutes to
cover 62 yards before Brunel)
connected with tight end Kyle Brady
for a 7-yard touchdown pass.
EKE
dead or alive
years ago. With that being said, it
seems as if owners don't want the
average tan to attend sporting events
I for one can't afford, nor do I
know any other college student who
can afford, to go to any NFL, NHL,
or NBA game. In order to get a de
cent seat at any of the facilities,
you're spending $30.00 a seat, if not
more, unless you want to sit in the
half way to the moon section.
And if you do scrounge up enough
cash to go to see your favorite team,
now all of a sudden you can't make
a ruckus because it isn't accepted be
havior anymore.
Tennessee responded with a nine
play, 51-yard drive that took 5:50
minutes. McNair hadn't been sharp on
many passes, but was able to throw a
9-yard touchdown pass to receiver
Yancy Thigpen.
Both teams traded interceptions
before Jacksonville took the lead in
the second quarter on James Stewart's
33-yard touchdown run through the
middle.
"We knew we weren't going to
blow them out in their house," Titan
defensive end Jevon Kearse said. "We
wanted to keep it close and see what
we could do in the second half."
It wasn't until both teams traded
fumbles late in the third quarter that
the game was decided.
The Jaguars began on their 1-yard
line, but struggled to advance the
football. Running hack Fred Taylor
(19 carries, 110 yards) was nearly
caught in the end zone, but managed
to escape a flurry of Titans and avoid
a safety
On the next play, however,
defensive tackle Josh Evans broke
through the middle and caught
Brunel! by the ankle and defensive
tackle Jason Fisk drove the
Jacksonville quarterback into the turf
for a safety.
"When we got a team backed up
like that, we're thinking score," Evans
said. "Forget the punt. We want
seven, but two points will do."
Momentum clearly shifted toward
Tennessee and all the air seemed to
be sucked out of the stadium when
Derrick Mason returned the ensuing
punt 80 yards for a touchdown to give
the Titans a 26-14 advantage.
From there, a Tennessee defense
that forced six of the game's 10
turnovers took over.
Jacksonville had two drives stopped
in the fourth quarter because of
turnovers and was unable to mount a
serious scoring threat. The Titans
played ball control and relied on the
running of McNair and George, who
finished with 86 yards on 25 carries.
Afterward, the two joked about the
game and their performance.
"Did he have more yards than me?"
George said in the locker room. "He
did. He's no quarterback. He's no
quarterback. He's a [running] back."
To this, McNair smiled. Again,
more labels.
SPORTS
While attending a Bills game at
Rich Stadium (now Ralph Wilson
Stadium after the conceited old man
named it after himself), I noticed a
different attitude amongst the revel
ers. What used to be common behav
ior of screaming until your throat
bled and making as much noise as
humanly possible was no longer "ap
propriate." A friend of mine who was
in attendance was told to be quiet, so
he politely told that individual how
he felt by means of sign language.
So where has the true sports fan
gone? Some have been alienated due
to their team's relocation to another
As expected, Rams beat
Tampa Bay - but just barely
ST. LOUIS Finally.
The most deadly attack in the NFL
spent most of its grandest hour
impotent, wracked by penalty and
error, rendered harmless by a defense
that is earning itself legendary status.
The Trans World Dome grew quieter
by the quarter as the homestanding
Rams flailed at Tampa Bay and its
impenetrable force.
And then .. . and then . .
League MVP Kurt Warner hit
pedestrian receiver Ricky Proehl from
30 yards on third down and scored the
game's only touchdown with 4
minutes, 44 seconds remaining. The
Dome's record crowd of 66,496
exploded. Like a 747 bound for
Atlanta, they took off on a glorious
binge of noise that they bottled for
most of the game's previous 55
minutes.
A desperate Bucs drive fizzled in
the final minute. Proehl's touchdown
his only one all year won it for
the Rams and sent coach Dick Vermeil
to the Super Bowl to meet AFC
champion Tennessee for the first time
since he took the Eagles there after
the 1980 season.
The reaction? Whew. The Rains
had won, 11-6.
"They had us on the ropes," Proehl
admitted afterward. "That's the best
defense we saw all year. Easy."
Afterward, "Georgia on My Mind"
blared over the loudspeakers. Aptly
named Rams owner Georgia
Frontiere, whose team will play in its
first Super Bowl next week in the
Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Ga., took a
victory lap.
There were moments of trepidation
and controversy before and after
Proehl's heroics. The Rams' offense
had managed just a 24-yard Jeff
Wilkins field goal with 4:17 left in the
first quarter before Proehl's
touchdown catch, victims of the
league's third-ranked defense.
After the catch, Bucs rookie
quarterback Shaun King like some
mirror image of Any Given Sunday
hero Willie Beamen, played by Jamie
Foxx guided his Florida-based club
toward the promised land.
King and Co. trudged 41 yards in
deafening noise and under incredible
pressure. King who played coolly
all day despite absorbing five sacks,
by Marcus Hayes
Knight-Ridder Tribune
January 24, 2000
BE
Wanted: Outstanding freshmen leaders with a GPA of 3.1 or
higher
For: Membership into the Lambda Sigma
Honors Society
*** Obtain an application by calling X-7066 and ask for Sarah
Students and employees of Penn State Behrend are invited to submit a free classified ad in The Beacon. Types of ads
may include personal messages and items for sale. Maximum classified length is 25 words. Persons who submit ads
must state their affiliation with Behrend. Classifieds are meant for individual use. Official notices and group events
should be submitted to the Calendar editor. Businesses must pay regular advertising rates. The Beacon can not
guarantee the publication of all classifieds submitted for space purposes. Classifieds should be sent to the Classified
ditor at The Beacon, Reed Building or dropped off at The Beacon offices, or sent to behrcoll4@aol.com. Deadline for
übmission for publication in that week's paper is Tuesday at S:OOPM
city, while others can't justify the
cost. But most true fans are merely
muzzled by the fair weather fans.
These fans only support the team
when times are good, but put away
all the coats and shirts when things
hit the rocks. (Sounds much like the
Pittsburgh Steelers fans of this year
who turned their shirts inside out af
ter week seven or so.)
In addition, owners and players
have little or no respect for the fans
these days. Owners only cater to the
wealthy who fill the club suites and
drive up team revenues, while play
ers constantly whine about not be-
throwing two interceptions and
fumbling twice was sacked on first
down with 1:25 left to play.
On second-and-23 from the Rams'
35, King appeared to hit Bert Emanuel
with a 13-yard pass. But referee Bill
Carollo said that replay official Jerry
Markbreit buzzed him and initiated a
review, and Carollo agreed that the
ground helped Emanuel catch the
pass, and it was ruled incomplete.
Instead of third-and-10 from the 22
with 47 seconds to play, it was third
and-23. King was pressured into an
incompletion on third down, and the
fourth-down try was batted out of
bounds and never had a real chance.
"I like to think we would have held
them even if [Emanuel] had made the
catch," said defensive end Grant
Wistrom, who sacked King on first
down.
And they probably would have,
because the Bucs' offense couldn't
score. The Bucs took possession four
times in Rams territory and managed
one field goal. They managed just
two field goals total one when
defensive end Steve White intercepted
a Warner pass on the opening play
from scrimmage at the Rams' 20, and
another when a long drive stalled at
the Rams' 5 in the third quarter. That
gave them a 6-5 lead: the Rams had
gotten two points on a safety when
Tony Mayberry snapped the ball over
King's head in the second quarter.
"They shut us down in the red
zone," Bucs coach Tony Dungy said.
That was to be expected. Offense
did not send the Bucs to St. Louis: it
was the fifth-worst in the league in
yardage per game and sixth-worst in
scoring this season. Rather, the
defense that ranked third in yardage
and scoring led Tampa Bay to 11
regular-season wins and past the
Redskins in the playoffs last week.
The Redskins' offense ranked
behind only the Rams, and it managed
just two field goals against the Bucs.
Until Proehl's play, it looked as
though the Rams would be lucky to
get the same not a pleasant
prospect, since right-footed Wilkins
has patellar tendonitis in his left knee,
giving him trouble in planting his left
leg. Wilkins already had missed from
44 Sunday, and he missed from 42 in
last week's win over the Vikings. A
47-yard kick was anything but a
gimme.
So, when Warner let fly, Vermeil
was hoping against hope.
ing paid enough
The fan who has been a season
ticket holder for years, or one who
attends games on a regular basis, gets
hosed constantly. Not only by the
bandwagoners but by the people they
support by going to the games.
In my estimation, the true fan is
still alive, but at this rate he or she
will also soon become extinct.
"I just thought, 'We'd better complete
it, we'd better complete it,' because
our field goal situation isn't as healthy
as you would like it to be," Vermeil
said.
Dumping it in his offense's lap
might not be such a grand prospect.
either. The Rams crowed after they
put 45 points on the backs of
Minnesota in their playoff opener last
week. They preened as, they claimed,
they proved themselves for real.
Oh, yeah? Well, before Sunday,
that offense had faced only one of the
league's top 10 defenses: Baltimore,
in the season-opener. The Rants had
31 turnovers this season, the third
lowest total in the NFC, and Tampa
Bay took it away three times. Warner
was responsible all three three
interceptions, all bad, all his fault. He
finished 26-for-43 for 258 yards, but
most of those yards came because the
Bucs gave him the short stuff.
"It seemed like everything we did,"
he said, "they knew what to expect."
That will he doubly true against the
Titans in a week. Tennessee beat the
Rams, 24-21, in Game 7, the Rams'
first loss.
Proehl, a 10-year veteran, hopes
Sunday's near-miss will deflate some
of the Rams' gaudy egos, not the least
of which belong to receivers Isaac
Bruce, Torry Holt and Az-zahir
Hakim, who have dubbed themselves
"The Warner Bros."
"Hopefully, this will bring us back
to earth," Proehl said.
The Bucs never left it especially
charismatic defensive tackle Warren
Sapp, the league's defensive MVP
who was held without a tackle or sack.
"The replay [on Emanuel's
incompletion] didn't lose this game
for us," Sapp said. "We had plenty of
opportunities to put this ballclub away
in the fourth quarter. We just didn't
make the plays.
"You know defense is going to give
us a chance to win it and offense has
to pull it out in the end, but we
couldn't get it done tonight. We
always felt we had the capability to
shut this offense down. It wasn't a
matter of this run-and-gun fun and
Time-Warner Brothers and all this
bullbleep they talk about."
No. It was about great defense and
Dick Vermeil keeping his guys
faithful and one guy hitting another
guy with a bomb at the end to win it
and go to Atlanta.